Stopper for dilution bottles



Dec. 23, 193.0. E. ESCHER. JR 1,785,359

STQPPER FOR DILUTION BOTTLES Filed June .27, 1928 11v VENTOR Eon 4212 [am/5e vJ12.

W .4 TTORNE S Patented Dec. 23, 1930 umTEofsTArEs EDWARD ESGHER, JR., OF BROOKLYN, YORK.

' s'rorrna non nILUTIon no'r'rnns- Application filed. June 27,

The invention relates to stoppers for dilution bottles such as are used in bacteriological work. In bacteriological routine and research technique, and more particularly in those branches thereof which include plate work, it is the practice to dilute the material, such as milk, cream, condensed milk, ice cream, under analysis, with a diluting fluid such as sterilized water. This water is gen- 1c orally sterilized by means of steam under pressure in suitable containers, generally glass bottles, which during the sterilizing process, are closed by means of stoppers to protect and insure the contents against contamination. These stoppers are required to yield against the action of the-forces devel-.

oped within the bottle during the sterilizing process, in order that these forces may be relieved without damage. Up to the present, such stoppers most generally have consisted of wads of sterilized cotton, although in some cases stoppers of soft rubber have been utilized. The cotton stoppers, aside from other disadvantages, involve the element of waste, while the rubber stoppers are objectionable because they ofttimes are forced from the neck of the bottle by the aforesaid internal forces and thus do not provide the protective factor which is essential in bacteriological technique. It has been attempted to cure this last mentioned defect by providing the rubber stoppers with glass stems projecting from the inner end surfaces of the stoppers into the bottles containing the diluting liquid. With this arrangement, the annular shoulder formed by the inner. face of the stopper about the stem ofttimes becomes lodged upon the outer end face of the bottle neck, as the stopper is forced out of the same by the afore said forces, and'because of the presence of the stem, causes the stopper to hang in this position in which the interior. of the bottle is exposed to the atmosphere. Such stoppers have the further disadvantage that the glass stem is subject to breakage, and are very objectionable from the bacteriological standpoint due to the fact that the union between the glass stein andrubber stopper is extremely hard to keep clean. The objectof the instant -invention is to provide a stopper in which all 1928'. Serial No. 288,732.

of the disadvantages recited above are avoided, and whereby the contents of the bottle are ethciently protected, while at-the same time thestopper' is free to yield and permit the required relief of theinternal pressures developed in the bottle during sterilization of its contents. 'Other more specific objects will appear from the description hereinafter, and the features of novelty will be pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings which show an example of the invention without clehningits limits, and in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the stopper; Fig. 2' is an endview thereof, and Fig. 3 is a sectional view of a sterilizing bottle with the stopper inplace therein. 7

As shown in the drawings, the stopper comprises a sealing body 5 having a cross-sectional form-corresponding to the cross-sec-v tional shape-of the bottle neck or other receptacle for which it is designed. In the illustrated example, the body is of circular form in cross-section, and preferably tapers from its outer end to a predetermined extent, as clearly shownin Fig. 1. The stopper fur ther includes astem projectingfrom one end of the body 5 and preferably beinglof relatively reduced diameter with respect to said 5 body, as shown in Figsnl and 3. The stem 6 merges into the body 5 along curved sloping -ines to form an annular shoulder 7, which extends between the stem 6 and the body 5 and' constitutes the inner endesurface of the latter. .The body 5 and the stem 6, as well as theshoulder 7, are all made as integral parts ofeach other, the stem 6 comprising an integral extension of the body 5 and projecting in an axial direction therefrom. The

stopper in all of its parts is made of a ma terial suitable to the purpose for which it-is intended, and in the illustrated example is ihown as being made of relatively soft rub- In practice'the stopper is inserted loosely into the neck 8 of the bottle; 9 soas to close the same, the stem projectinginwardly into thebodyof .the bottle to a predetermined ex tent; As the sterilizing process is carried" out, and internal pressures and other forces are developed within the bottle as a result of such process, the body 5 will be forced upwardly out of the neck 8 to relieve such forces and to thereby prevent the same from producing any injurious results. The stem 6 is of such length that it will never be entirely shifted out of the bottle neck by the action of the aforesaid forces. The stopper may for instance assume the position indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 3 which represents about the limit to which it will under ordinary conditions be forced from the bottle neck.8. As the aforesaid forces are dissipated, the stopper will immediately drop back into place so that the body 5 again seals the neck 8; this return action is absolutely assured because of the presence of the sloping shoulder 7 and the absence of any abrupt surfaces which, through co-operation with the end surface of the bottle neck might cause the stopper to be retained in an outer inoperative position. As a matter of fact, the stopper, when in use for closing a bottle in which a fluid is being sterilized will, by the action of the developed forces, pop up out of the bottle neck and then back again into place, this action beingconstantly repeated as long as the sterilizing process continues. Contamination of the fluid being sterilized can not take place during the short periods when the body 5 is out of the neck 8, because during such periods gases or vapors are escaping from the neck with a suflicient force to prevent any contaminating substance or agent from entering the bottle 9. The moment the pressure of the vapors ceases or is reduced, the body 5 will drop back into place and will thereby close the neck 8 and prevent contamination of the contents of the bottle. Continued sterility of the contents of the bottle is assured by the fact that upon cooling the negative pressure developed within the bottle will draw the stopper firmly into the neck of the bottle and retain it in that position until needed The stopper is thus of maximum efiiciency for its intended purpose and is particularly adapted for bacteriological work. Furthermore, the stopper is extremely simple in construction and may be easily produced at low cost in any material which may be suitable to the purpose for which the stopper is designed.

Various changes in the specific forms shown and described may be made within the scope of the claim without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

A stopper for dilution bottles, consisting of a sealing body of tapering form differing from the interior shape of the bottle neck for which it is designed whereby said body fits said neck loosely, a solid stem of reduced diameter projecting from said body at one end and comprising an integral part thereof, said body and stem being made of relatively soft rubber, and an annular sloping shoulder In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

EDWARD ESCHER, JR.

lSU 

